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G73SW Restore Disk Issue, USB 3.0 Issue after Clean Install - solved?

Camelonian
Level 7
I am working on an ASUS G73SW with a failed hard drive. Thankfully I already had the recovery disks created, so I just bought another hard drive of the exact same size and installed it. I put the disks in and was prompted to restore and create the partitions and it appeared to be working until the last disk. The last disk got to 100%, then suddenly jumped to 5% and errored out with a code 1029. Nothing wrong with the brand new HDD or the DVDs. I see that the recovery partition has been created and the other partition is available for Windows install. F9 does not work to start things up, and marking the recovery partition as active doesn't seem to do anything either. Anyone else migrate to a brand new hard drive and get the recovery disks to work?
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The_Cool_Dude
Level 10
Hi there.

For the original recovery disks, I haven't had any luck with them. When I got my G73JH I didn't like how Asus set up the drives so I wiped the drives and started fresh. Sadly, I forgot to make recovery discs.

In any case, you don't really need them. As long as your Windows 7 sticker with the license key is still on your laptop, you can go here to make your own bootable USB key or CD that will install Windows for you.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/home

Once you have Windows 7 running again, you can use ASUS's website to get the Windows 7 drivers for your laptop.

The Cool Dude wrote:
Hi there.

For the original recovery disks, I haven't had any luck with them. When I got my G73JH I didn't like how Asus set up the drives so I wiped the drives and started fresh. Sadly, I forgot to make recovery discs.

In any case, you don't really need them. As long as your Windows 7 sticker with the license key is still on your laptop, you can go here to make your own bootable USB key or CD that will install Windows for you.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/home

Once you have Windows 7 running again, you can use ASUS's website to get the Windows 7 drivers for your laptop.


I attempted to do that and have most of this running now, but can't seem to get the USB 3.0 slot to show up. The drivers from their site install without a problem and show up in Add/Remove programs, but the USB 3.0 controller does not show in Device Manager at all. USB 2.0 slots are up and operational. I checked the BIOS to make sure I had the latest revision and also looked for a way to see if it got disabled somewhow, but the BIOS options are really sparse and there isn't much you can work with like I am used to on ASUS' desktop motherboards. I attempted to revert the BIOS to default settings to see if that may help, but no luck there either.

Is there a key combo to access the "advanced" BIOS for ASUS laptops? I typically haven't had to do that before, but I know that HP devices have this. I really don't think it is disabled since it was working before, and a disk swap shouldn't affect the BIOS.

billyray520
Level 10
You should have the Fresco Logic controller and root hub showing in the Device Manager. Have you rebooted? Have you verified the USB 3.0 port exists? It sounds like the software installed correctly. Have you checked the WIndows application and system logs to see if there are any problems with the 3.0 port? 3.0.110.12 is the version number that shows up in add/remove Programs. There are NO settings in the BIOS for the USB 3.0 port.
Asus Maximus V Extreme BIOS 1903, see specs above avatar.

Asus G73 jh A1 laptop, BIOS 213, vBIOS OD2, 8 GB Ram, 240 GB Intel SSD, 180 GB Intel SSD. Win 7 Pro. Purchased new from PowerNotebooks.com in May 2010.
(both have 1920X1080 hd screens, mine above, hers below )
Asus G73 Sw XR1 laptop 8 GB Ram, 160 GB Intel SSD, 80 GB Intel SSD. Purchased used >Ebay 1/10/13, Did clean install of Windows 7

I have rebooted and still no luck. ASUS support verified that I had the correct drivers downloaded for the chipset and Fresco USB. Do you happen to have a screenshot of what my device manager should be showing, or a hardware ID I can search the logs for? This particular model only has one USB 3.0 slot on the side so I know it should show up in the device manager like it did before the disk went bad. At a glance nothing really sticks out in the application and system logs.

The_Cool_Dude
Level 10
Hi there.

The BIOS is stored on a chip on the MOBO so changing the HDD or SDD will have no effect. Try not to mess with the BIOS. The latest version on Asus support site for the G73SW is BIOS 205 so you should stick with that.

I am not aware of an advanced mode in the BIOS from Asus.

Since I do not have your model, I am unable to assist further. If it were me though, I would try reloading Windows 7 again. If you haven't yet tried Windows 10 on it, now would be a good time to try it out. It's not going to hurt. Besides, you can always go back to Windows 7 and you do want to get in on the Free Windows 10 before July. Once you install Windows 10 once on it, you get a licence for it and you can still use your Windows 7 key for it if you want to go back,

Another member of the forum set up this site for Windows 10 drivers for Asus laptops. http://ivanrf.com/en/latest-asus-drivers-for-windows-10/

He seems to be keeping it up to date so his site should save you some time hunting for Windows 10 drivers.

Good luck.

I may give Windows 10 a shot, otherwise I may have to shell out the cash for some factory made restore disks from ASUS as a last ditch effort, although I really feel as if I shouldn't have to do that since the restore disks I made were not copied correctly by their utility. I may also try another stab at getting that recovery partition to work. I know marking it active is the first step, should I also create the MBR, and are there other files needed to make it ready to boot?

Anyone happen to know if the USB 3.0 slot on these is soldered on, or if it may be cabled? If it is cabled then I can try to see if the cable is pinched or needs to be reattached.

billyray520
Level 10
Sorry, I forgot to check in for a few days..

Here are the pics of the Device manager screens you wanted to see:

54971
54972
54973
Asus Maximus V Extreme BIOS 1903, see specs above avatar.

Asus G73 jh A1 laptop, BIOS 213, vBIOS OD2, 8 GB Ram, 240 GB Intel SSD, 180 GB Intel SSD. Win 7 Pro. Purchased new from PowerNotebooks.com in May 2010.
(both have 1920X1080 hd screens, mine above, hers below )
Asus G73 Sw XR1 laptop 8 GB Ram, 160 GB Intel SSD, 80 GB Intel SSD. Purchased used >Ebay 1/10/13, Did clean install of Windows 7

Thanks for the post, on a whim I went ahead and removed the internal wireless card and then reinstalled it. Magically upon reboot, the USB 3.0 was detected and it started to automatically install the drivers. Weird!

Thanks all for your help.

Glad to hear it! 😄 Thanks for the update, odd solution though.. :confused:
Asus Maximus V Extreme BIOS 1903, see specs above avatar.

Asus G73 jh A1 laptop, BIOS 213, vBIOS OD2, 8 GB Ram, 240 GB Intel SSD, 180 GB Intel SSD. Win 7 Pro. Purchased new from PowerNotebooks.com in May 2010.
(both have 1920X1080 hd screens, mine above, hers below )
Asus G73 Sw XR1 laptop 8 GB Ram, 160 GB Intel SSD, 80 GB Intel SSD. Purchased used >Ebay 1/10/13, Did clean install of Windows 7